Natural brown and green NC longleaf Pine needles. Black artificial waxed sinew. Plain stitch, spiral wheat stitch, fern stitch. Split coils to form meandering vines. Pine cone topped lid. Braided handle. Added footer and spout. Alpaca wool steam. Beeswax coating.
Debra Shea
Every 1 2024 / May 7, 2024
Letting Off Steam
![](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_auto,q_glossy,ret_img,w_1200,h_1022/https://nationalbasketry.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Shea_Letting_Off_Steam-1200x1022.jpeg)
H: 9" | W: 8.5" | D: 9"
Photo by artist
Debra Shea
Raleigh, NC
As an artist, I find it interesting and rewarding to make something beautiful and often functional, from nature's castoffs. The act of coiling a vessel can be confining, in that it builds upon a repetitive pattern of circles. The challenge that I enjoy is using the techniques and materials at hand, such as color, stitching, and shaping to guide the movement of the coil in unexplored directions. There is beauty and inspiration in nature's discards – all visible in the striations of the wood, meandering vines, cones, and needles. Often what I create has a mind of its own, and what I envisioned at the start will turn out differently in the end. My art is a reminder that life's journey doesn't always follow the intended path, but often leads to something even better.